Pangilinan says ball now in Executive Dept’s court to use unspent Bayanihan 2 fund

It is now up to the Executive Department to obligate billions of unspent funds provided under the Bayanihan To Recover As One Act or the Bayanihan 2 Law, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Tuesday.

“Right now, the ball is with the court of the Executive Department. They have basis to spend it. They have basis to release it. They have basis to obligate it. So that’s what they should do,” Pangilinan said in a virtual interview with reporters when asked about the possibility of holding a special session to extend the validity of Bayanihan 2 funds.

The lawmaker said the funds will not be put to waste if these were already obligated before June 30.

“It is really the challenge for the Executive Department… Hindi mapapaso by June 30 kapag obligated na. So nasaan ang bola? Nasa kanila,” he said.

The Bayanihan 2 Law is set to expire by the end of June. If the law’s effectivity was not extended, the unobligated funds will be reverted to the Bureau of Treasury.

On the other hand, detained Senator Leila de Lima raised the need to extend the validity of Bayanihan 2 Law.

In a statement, she said the P18.4 billion unutilized funds for pandemic response should not only be questioned but also be deplored.

De Lima said the Congress has no choice but to ask President Rodrigo Duterte to call for a special session— a request earlier floated by Albay Representative Joey Salceda.

"Kung hindi palpak, saksakan naman ng bagal. Nandyan ang pera ngunit hindi nagawa na makaabot sa milyun-milyong nangangailangang Pilipino. Dapat ay ipaliwanag ni Duterte at ng [Inter-Agency Task Forcee] kung bakit hindi nila naipatupad ang Bayanihan 2 nang maayos kaya maraming proyekto ang hindi naisagawa kahit pa may pondo," she asked.

(The funds are there but these were not given to the Filipinos who are in need. Duterte and the IATF should explain why they didn’t implement Bayanihan 2 properly.)

"Once again, Duterte has left a mess for both Houses of Congress to clean. Matapos pagpuyatan at pagpaguran ng mga mambabatas upang dumaloy naman kahit papaano ang ginhawa at ayuda sa bayan, hindi ginawa nila Duterte ang bahagi nila," she added.

(After they worked overnight and toiled hard for this, Duterte and the Executive Department did not do their part.)

Salceda earlier called for a special session to extend the validity of the Bayanihan 2 funds.

Currently, P18 billion of the P165 billion Bayanihan 2 funds has yet to be obligated by the national government.

Of the said amount, Salceda said P6.6 billion were allotted for lab testing and human resources for health and P873 million for contact tracing which are critical amid the country's battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said he has no information on whether or not Duterte would call a special session of Congress to extend the validity of the Bayanihan 2 fund.

To recall, Bayanihan 2 Law was already extended six months from its original expiry last December 31, 2020.

Article 6, Section 15 of the Rules of the House states “The President may call a special session at any time.”—AOL, GMA News